Not Every Misfit Means It’s Toxic, When Culture Isn’t the Problem
Johnathan Johannes
Leadership Architect | Managing Director, Unicomer OECS | Retail & Finance Trailblazer | Author-in-Progress | Shaping the Future with Bold Ideas & Real Results
The Misfit Myth: Unpacking the Real Story
“This place has changed. It’s not what it used to be.”
The words were heavy. I was in conversation with a respected leader reflecting on his growing discomfort inside the very organization he helped build. A new CEO had arrived. The brand had been refreshed. The culture was shifting rapidly.
And now, he wasn’t sure if he still belonged.
“Do you think it’s become toxic?” he asked me.
I paused. Then offered a different possibility:
“What if it’s not toxic? What if it’s just not yours anymore?”
The Assumption Trap: Discomfort ≠ Dysfunction
We often equate personal discomfort with organizational failure. The temptation is to label what no longer fits us as broken. But growth isn’t always symmetrical. Companies evolve. So do people. And sometimes, they evolve apart.
When that happens, it's easier to call it toxicity than to admit it might be misalignment.
But misalignment isn’t malice.
Apple, Amazon, and the Culture Mislabeling Epidemic
Apple under Steve Jobs was infamous for being exacting. Team members described the culture as intense, even brutal. But those who thrived there? They called it inspiring.
Amazon under Jeff Bezos has long been critiqued for its relentless pace and unforgiving standards. Yet it has built one of the most resilient operational engines in the world.
Are these toxic environments?
Not necessarily.
They are engineered for a very specific kind of performance and personality. And while not everyone fits, those who do often describe the experience as transformational.
The issue isn’t that the culture is harmful. It’s that it’s intentional.
And intentional cultures don’t bend for everyone. They hire, reward, and retain based on strategic alignment, not universal comfort.
When the Culture Evolves Without You
Back to the leader I mentioned earlier. He wasn’t failing. But the environment that once fit him like a glove had changed.
It wasn’t that he lacked talent. It’s that his leadership language no longer matched the organization’s dialect.
He was playing the same tune, but the orchestra had changed.
This is where many experienced leaders go wrong. Instead of assessing how the culture has shifted, they declare it dysfunctional. But transformation doesn’t always mean deterioration.
Culture Fit vs. Culture Clash: The Honest Reflection
Not everyone will thrive everywhere. That doesn’t mean the place is bad. It might mean it’s no longer built for your style of contribution.
What matters is how we interpret that misfit moment.
Toxicity has symptoms: manipulation, favoritism, suppression, discrimination.
But misalignment has different markers: changes in values, shifts in pace, new strategic direction.
It takes emotional maturity to see the difference.
Leadership Isn’t About Comfort. It’s About Clarity.
Sometimes the bravest thing you can do as a leader is to say:
“This version of the company needs something different. And that’s okay.”
We don’t always talk about this. We glamorize the rebuilds, the comebacks, the turnaround heroes. But rarely do we praise the leader who steps aside when the culture no longer aligns with their voice.
Yet those exits are some of the most powerful.
Final Thought: Don’t Burn the Building Just Because the Door Closed
There’s a difference between saying:
Exceptional leaders know the difference.
So the next time someone exits a high-performance culture and calls it toxic, pause before you agree.
Ask:
One is a crisis. The other is a crossroads.
And they require very different responses.
Let’s Talk:
Have you ever been in a place that no longer fit you? What helped you recognize the difference between misalignment and dysfunction?
Repost this if you believe not every exit story is a failure story.
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Business Development Officer at Ministry of Commerce, Business Development, Investment and Consumer Affairs
1moThanks for sharing, Johnathan
General Manager | Strategic Management, Process Re-Engineering, RECP Coach
1moThank you for sharing your perspective on the perception of toxicity within a work environment. Very interesting. I've found this has been augmented in particular due to the rise of the use of technology replacing manual and long drawn out tasks. Knowledge now at our finger tips has changed the pace of work, accelerated solutions and continue to offer quicker and better ways of doing things. Those who are not tech savvy can often get lost in the sea of change related to any business who embraces this transformation and also a transformation based on systems thinking and not the individual role. Personalities with high self importance will most certainly shrink if they are not open to adapting. We all should seek to continue to learn new ways of doing things in our current roles and if we still want to leave let it be rooted in our excitement to contribute to other career paths and not because we just can't cope.
Mergers & Acquisitions | Corporate Law | Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright
1moI tend to think departures of good talent are typically a company loss because there is a very real cost to turnover rates. It’s hard to find good talent & it’s costly to lose it (both due to lost productivity but also because it’s expensive to try and replacd). This is why good leaders do as much to mold themselves around the personalities of their team as ask their team to mold around them. Or so I think. But, the other thing: I think it’s ok to nurse our instinctive love of grudges for a time. It can also fuel productivity (although probably not as effectively or durably as joy). However, the best advice I ever received is that it is not a personal failure to leave a place. It’s a failure to stick to when it’s not working. I do believe that it important to try and work through friction and invest in the place you are at. Grass is always greener after all. BUT: If there’s a fundamental friction between you and your organization, it doesn’t really matter whose fault it is that the friction exists. That friction will not allow you to be the best version of yourself and the science suggests that even high performers can get caught in a tailspin of declining productivity & inertia. Better for all to cut the cord.
FCCA at EW FACT plc London
1moSteel is tempered for a toxic environment but we all need and rely on the end product. That does not negate the fact that the environment is toxic.
Director of Operations and Product Development for GPH Eastern Caribbean and General Manager, Antigua Cruise Port
1moI love this, Johnathan! It’s often about alignment and a shared vision. Yet, there are times when one person can’t accept a new perspective or is unwilling to appreciate it. Our desire to being always right or remain indifferent can become an obstacle, making everything seem toxic.